WARNING: You MAY Not Need Synthetic Oil

AMSOIL synthetic motor oils offer significantly greater protection & performance than other oils. BUT ... not everyone will benefit from the quality improvement. Get the facts .......... Watch the video at right.

what is the best synthetic oil for cars and trucks ? What oil filters do you use?

some of the best synthetics out there:
High-end: Redline, Royal Purple, Amsoil,
Regular: Valvoline Synpower, Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec

Synthetics are superior because they don’t break down, they flow in ice cold weather and handle desert heat with no problems. they have more detergents for extra cleaning, and they can last a long time. the high end synthetics can easily go up to 15,000 miles, some say amsoil can go 25,000, but I’ve never tried it and am skeptical.
regular synthetics are good for about 10,000 I’d say.

the catch is the filter. the filters can not go past 7500.
Best filters: Wix, Purolator, Mobil 1, Bosch, AC Delco, K&N

Stay away from Fram and anything that looks like a Fram.

Wix & Purolator’s are the only filters I use. they are cost effective and extremely high quality.
Mobil 1 uses a synthetic media to trap dirt vs. a paper element. It costs a lot, but it is unique, doesn’t mean its better. AC Delco’s are good, they currently are made by Wix, Bosch is good. Fram’s are built poorly, shoddy construction, usually when they fail you’ll hear valve chatter, the filter broke internally, the cardboard backing plate slipped and is now an obstruction.

I use only Mobil 1 synthetic oil for both my truck and my wife’s car. Penzoil synthetic oil is also good but I prefer Mobil 1. Also I only use Fram oil filters. Synthetic oil is better especially for late model vehicles because it doesn’t break down as easily under heat as regular oil does which keeps your engine lubricated better, in turn it helps your engine last longer, as well as extends the recommended amount of time in between oil changes.

As a professional mechanic I use Castrol Syntec, but Quaker State makes a good synthetic marketed under the name of “Q”. Oil filters are all the same. As long as you are only driving on paved roads and the occasional dirt road, you really don’t need a $15.00 filter, the $4.00 store brand filter will work fine. If you do a lot of off road travel, or you don’t change oil as often as you should, a more expensive filter will last longer and offer better filtration. Filters such as the Fram Ultra Guard are excellent products.

As for the difference between cars and trucks, there is none aside from the fact that a truck is more likely to be used for off road applications.

And finally, synthetic oil is a better product for the “lazy” car owner. Those who go more than 5000 miles without an oil change. I recommend every 3500 miles for standard oil and 4500 for synthetic.

Right viscosity grade of API class SM or SL should provide maximum engine protection.
Synthetic oils’ (PAO type) only advantage versus high quality oils (UCBO or Hydrocracked type) is slightly longer life against oil oxidation. However, no oils could resist contamination with abrasives (dust) and no oil could protect against abrasives. So you still need to drain oil on a regular basis and even more frequently under dusty conditions.
Synthetics are best in a sealed environment.

if you regularly change your oil and filter (every 3 to 5 thousand miles) and keep your air filter clean then any name brand oil and filter is fine. spending extra for synthetic and high-end filters will do no more for your vehicle then regular changes will. you will spend less money and your vehicle will last just as long if you just do regular maintenance.

i have been using amsoil products for 29 years , and i will say with all honesty i have never had a failure of any sort , all of you out there need to educate yourselves , esp with our eao oil filters they trap contaminants down to 12 micron and are guranteed to last 25k or one yr whichever comes first , i normally put 20k plus a year on my car and use roughly 1 to qts per year , think about it thats like every 10,000 miles!! and i get about 10% better fuel economy , never have to worry about cold weather i think the one thing i should point out since 1972 we are the only pure synthetic oil on the market today , all of the other so called oils are hydro cracked petroleum for the base and then they add addditives to complete the build so the next time you want to compare amsoil against all the others you will find out with research that we are ” the first in synthetics”

Although, obviously, as an AMSOIL Dealer, I agree with much of what Larry says, I can’t endorse his comments fully. I too have used AMSOIL products for many years without a hint of an issue or failure. However, the comment which indicates that “all of the other so called oils are hydrocracked petroleum” is not entirely accurate. Although, certainly, many of the “off-the-shelf” synthetic oils on the market are based off of primarily or even entirely Group III hydrocracked basestocks, there are other premium synthetics on the market which are not.

For instance, Redline oil is an ester based synthetic oil, not Group III. It’s a good oil. There are potential problems with synthetics which are based entirely off of Ester basestocks, and there is a wider performance range for Ester bases than PAOs, but, under certain circumstances an Ester basestock oil can be a good thing.

I guess I just want to be careful not to make any suggestions on this site which are not entirely accurate. ALOT of “synthetic” oils these days ARE hydrocrack based, but AMSOIL is certainly no the ONLY synthetic out there that is not.